


Steam Powered

by UMK_824



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Gen, Navia brotp, but not really, he already knows, juvia teaches natsu about love, mentions of igneel - Freeform, moving this from fanfiction.net to here, natsu & juvia friendship, slight gajeel/levy, slight gray/juvia, slight natsu/lucy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-06-28 03:36:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15699348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UMK_824/pseuds/UMK_824
Summary: Natsu wants to go on a job but Lucy's sick. Mira shakes things up by suggesting he go with Juvia. Opposites in almost every way, what shenanigans will they get in to? Natsu and Juvia friendship, slight Gruvia and Nalu. Set before Tartarus arc.





	1. A new team

"What's wrong, Natsu?" Mira asked. It was a relatively normal day in the Fairy Tail guild. After winning the Grand Magic Games, the guild was abuzz with job requests, but today was a quiet day. Quiet because one of the more rambunctious mages was, for lack of a better word, sulking.

"Looshy's shick." Natsu mumbled. It came out strange because his head was down on the table counter.

"Natsu, put your head up, I can't understand you." Mira asked and Natsu did so.

"Lucy's sick and I wanted to go on a job. It was a really good one too."

"Aww, poor girl. What's the job?" Mira asked. Natsu took the request out and handed it to her, then went back to sulking.

"Fire Kraken in Hargeon towns harbor is stopping trade, fishing, and export. Will pay 100,000 jewels to mages who can stop it." Mira read aloud. "Wow, a Fire Kraken is pretty rare."

"Yeah, it'd be fun to fight. I wanted Lucy to come because she could summon Aquarius and we'd take it down!" Natsu said, regaining some of his usual enthusiasm. "But she's sick."

"There, there, Natsu. I'm sure she didn't get sick on purpose." Mira said, thinking a bit before suggesting "if you need a water mage, why not ask Juvia?"

"Juvia?" Natsu wondered aloud, sitting up straight.

"Of course! She's the best water mage we have." Mira pointed out.

"Hmm, I dunno. I don't really know her that well…" Natsu pondered.

"Then this will be a good opportunity for you to bond will your guild mate." Mira said cheerfully. Natsu pondered for a second before deciding.

"Alright! Thanks, Mira." Natsu said before going off to find her.

"Hmm. If I were Juvia, where would I be?" Natsu wondered, trying to scan the guild hall for her.

"Natsuuuu!" Happy called out, flying towards him and landing on his head.

"Yo, Happy."

"You're not sad anymore, is Lucy not sick anymore?"

"No, she's still sick. But we're still going on the job."

"Really? How?"

"We're gonna get Juvia to come with us."

"Oh, Mira has great ideas."

"Hey, what if I had the idea!?" Natsu complained.

"Did you?" Happy asked skeptically. 

"N-no…" Natsu admitted.

"See, I was right." Happy gloated.

"Whatever, just help me find her." Natsu asked. The two looked around before Happy spoke up.

"Over there!" he said, pointing to Gray.

"Happy, that's just Gray."

"Yeah, but wherever Gray is, Juvia must be close by." Happy pointed out.

"Hm, you're right." Natsu agreed and headed over to the table where Gray and Cana were sitting.

"Yo, Natsu, Happy." Cana greeted.

"Hey, Cana." Natsu waved.

"What do you want, flame brain?" Gray asked.

"Nothin' from you, ice prick." Natsu shot back. "I'm looking for Juvia. You seen her?" Natsu asked. Gray seemed surprised that Natsu asked for her.

"Juvia? Why are you looking for her?" he asked.

"Wanna ask her something."

"What are you asking her?" Gray asked, a little too quickly.

"Gonna ask her if she wants to go on a job." Natsu answered. Gray seemed to calm down a little.

"Tch, she's behind that pillar." Gray pointed out. Natsu followed his direction and saw her peeking her head out behind the pillar, looking intently at Gray.

"Right, thanks." Natsu said, going to her. Gray turned his head to follow.

"Yo, Juvia." Natsu greeted.

"Natsu-san? H-hello." Juvia said, confused as to why Natsu would approach her.

"Something wrong?" Natsu asked.

"She's confused because you two don't really talk." Happy said.

"Happy is right. Sorry, Natsu-san but Juvia is a bit confused. Is there something you need?" she asked.

"Well, we're talking now, right? And yeah, wanna come with us on a job?" Natsu asked, handing her the request form. Juvia took it and read it.

"Fire Kraken? Juvia has only seen one before."

"Sounds fun, right? Wanna come?"

"Why ask Juvia? Why not Lucy?" Juvia asked.

"Lucy's sick so she can't go. Mira said that I should ask you 'cause you're the best water mage we have." Natsu explained.

"Isn't Juvia the only water mage Fairy Tail has?"

"Nah, we got a couple guys. But Mira's right, you're the best we got."

"Juvia is flattered, Natsu-san." She replied, blushing slightly at the praise.

"No, problem. So what do you think, wanna come?" Natsu asked. Juvia thought about it for a second.

"Ok, Natsu-san. Juvia will go. It will be fun to go on a job with you. When do we leave?"

"Great, thanks. Hargeon's not too far away, maybe a half hour on the tr-trian." Natsu said, already feeling ill just mentioning the train. Juvia noticed and giggled.

"It's ok, Natsu-san. We can walk." She offered. Natsu perked up immediately.

"Really?" Natsu asked hopefully.

"Sure. Juvia doesn't like using the train either, the vibrations from the train make Juvia's water body act weird." She told him.

"Ahahah, you're the best, Juvia!" Natsu said, picking up Juvia in a bear hug. This caused Gray to spit out his drink and almost fall over. Cana thought that was hilarious.

"Come on, Happy! We gotta pack! We'll pick you up from Fairy Hills in an hour, Juvia." Natsu said, racing off to get ready. Juvia laughed to herself from Natsu's antics and was about to go and pack but saw Gray coming towards her.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia said, surprised that he came to her when it was usually the other way around.

"Hey, Juvia. What did Natsu want?" Gray asked, a little nervously, but hid it well.

"Oh, um, Natsu-san asked Juvia to go on a job with him and she agreed."

"Oh, good, that's good. Yeah… good." Gray said, calming down a little.

"Is everything ok, Gray-sama?" Juvia asked.

"Hmm? No, yeah everything's fine. Just wanted to see what the hot-head wanted. Where are you two going?"

"We're going to Hargeon to get rid of a Fire Kraken."

"Oh hey, don't see those every day."

"Right, Juvia has only seen one."

"Yeah? That must have been, uh, fun."

"Gray, stop flirting with Juvia, you're horrible at it." Cana teased. This effectively caused Gray to stammer and Juvia to almost faint.

"Ca-Cana, I'm not, I mean, no but-" Gray tried to explain but it was too late. Juvia's face had gone red.

"Gray-sama is flirting with Juvia?" she practically shrieked.

"Dammit, Cana!" Gray bellowed.

"Bwahahahahahahaha!" Cana let out, clearly pleased with the reaction.

"Look, Juvia, I'm not flirting with you." Gray tried to fix.

"Oh, you're not…?" Juvia said, a bit downtrodden.

"No, just, gahhh" Gray groaned before continuing "I just wanted to say, good luck on your job, and be safe."

"Really?" Juvia asked, hopefully.

"Yeah, don't let that idiot slow you down, ok?"

"Yes, Gr-Gray-sama!" Juvia replied, still red faced. She headed out the guild hall to get ready for the job, leaving Gray bemused. "Why was she so red?" he wondered aloud.

"Gray, your clothes." Cana pointed out.

"Hmm?" Gray looked down and say that he was buck naked. "Dammit, my clothes!"

"Shouldn't it really be 'dammit, my pants' by now? You barely ever wear a shirt anymore, stripper." Gajeel pointed out from his table with team shadow gear. Well, more like him, Lily and Levy at one table while Jet and Droy glare it him from afar. He was met with an ice ball in his face.

"Shut it, tin head! You wanna go?!" Gray challenged.

"You're damn right, but put on your pants already you damn pervert!" Gajeel roared, watching as Gray fumbled with his pants. The second he got them on, Gray got smacked with an iron rod and he and Gajeel got into the first, but certainly not last, brawl of the day.


	2. The rain woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu gets to know Juvia and learns a lot more than he thought he would.

Sure enough, Juvia saw Natsu an hour later waiting for her at the gates of Fairy Hills.

"Natsu-san, you're here." Juvia said, surprised.

"Yeah, why do you sound surprised?"

"Well, Juvia just thought Natsu-san was the type of person who would show up whenever. Juvia is sorry." She apologized, slightly embarrassed.

"Ahh, don't worry about it. Me an' Happy always go to Lucy's place early before a job to sneak in, she gets really surprised. It's fun!" Natsu grinned.

"Really? She lets you?"

"Well, not really… we sometimes catch her doing weird things."

"Such as?"

"Well, this one time me an' Happy snuck into her bed 'cause she has the most comfy bed ever, and it was so nice that we fell asleep. Then she came in and freaked out when she saw us there. Apparently, she just got out of the shower so she was really spooked. It was really funny." Natsu laughed at the memory, causing Juvia to giggle at the thought. Then she noticed something. Or rather, the lack of someone.

"Natsu-san, where's Happy?" Juvia asked, finding no trace of the flying blue cat.

"Oh, before we got here, we visited Lucy to see how she was doing. She's still sick but she wants to do stuff but can't, so Happy stayed behind to look after her. She says 'hi' and 'good luck', whatever that meant." Natsu frowned, causing Juvia to giggle again.

"Juvia appreciates the advice. Should we get going? Hargeon is about two hours away by walking."

"Yeah, let's go." Natsu said, leading her out. The two mages walked together in silence through Magnolia for a while before Natsu got bored.

"Gaaaaaahhhhh! How much longer?!" Natsu groaned.

"We've only been walking for 20 minutes, Natsu-san." Juvia informed.

"Really? Only 20? Man, it feels like it's been longer than that."

"Sorry, if Juvia is boring you." Juvia said, a bit too normal for Natsu's liking.

"No, sorry, it's not that!" Natsu quickly explained. "It's just, usually me, Happy, an' Lucy are talking or I'm trying not to barf on the train when we go out for jobs. So I'm usually doing something on the way."

"But you are bored?" Juvia pondered. Natsu scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously.

"Y-yeah I guess. But it's not because of you, Juvia, I promise."

"Alright, if you promise."

"Yeah. But now that I think about it, Mira was right, we don't really know that much about each other. And we're guild mates!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Juvia supposes it's only natural. Natsu-san has been a part of the guild for a long time, along with many other members. Juvia hasn't been with Fairy Tail for long."

"That's no excuse for me not to know my guild mate! C'mon, tell me about yourself." Natsu asked.

"R-really? Juvia doesn't have that interesting of a story to tell."

"No way! A badass mage like you has to have a story. C'mon, spill." Natsu egged on. Juvia smiled and relented.

"Alright, if you insist. Well, Juvia was born quite far from Magnolia and her parents loved her very much and Juvia loved them. But they were very busy people, father was a business man and mother was a writer and when Juvia was around 4, she left alone a lot. That's when Juvia found out she could use water magic, mother and father were so proud and tried to help Juvia learn more. They encouraged it but couldn't help Juvia advance, but Juvia was happy that her parents were proud and she worked hard to keep them proud."

"Wow, that young? That's really impressive, Juvia." Natsu said, clearly impressed. Juvia smiled at the praise.

"Thank you, Natsu-san."

"You're welcome. What happened next?"

"That's when other kids found out Juvia could use magic. Where Juvia was from, magic was especially rare so they thought Juvia was a freak. That's when the rain started following Juvia and it only made the kids hate her more. Juvia started making teru teru bozu dolls, she heard that they could make the rain stop but they never did, but Juvia never gave up. Juvia's parents heard about her bullying and sent her to her uncle. He's a mage so they thought he could help Juvia and he did. Her uncle used to be part of a guild so he had a lot of experience in magic and he helped Juvia learn more about her magic and helped Juvia master her water body."

"You know, I've always been kinda curious about that? How does your water body work? The only other person I know that can turn into their magic is Laxus. And Gajeel too, I guess. And that's stupid 'cause if they can do, I should too!" Natsu pouted. Juvia giggled at the face he was making.

"Juvia doesn't really know herself, honestly. Her uncle thinks that it's because she has a deep connection to water and understands it on such a high level."

"Well, Igneel taught me all about fire, but I can't turn into it!"

"That's right, Natsu-san was raised by a dragon." Juvia remembered. Natsu grinned proudly.

"Yep! The one and only Igneel, the fire dragon king!" Natsu proclaimed.

"King? Wow, would you mind telling Juvia about that?" she asked.

"Sure! But you gotta finish your story first, ok?" Natsu prompted, Juvia nodded.

"Right! Juvia stayed with her uncle for a few years while he taught her magic and after a few years, she went back home. But when she did, she discovered that a dark guild had come and attacked most of the town. Juvia's parents were killed in the attack." Juvia said sadly.

"Oh man, I'm sorry." Natsu said.

"It's ok, Natsu-san. Juvia accepted it a long time ago, but it still hurts to think about." She trailed off. Natsu stayed quiet to give her time. Not too long after, she continued.

"After the funeral, Juvia moved back with her uncle but she didn't stay for too long as she didn't want to bring the rain with her to her uncle and so she moved to Oak town. Juvia started dating a mage named Bora for a short time, but it didn't last long." That caught Natsu's attention.

"Bora? Kinda tall guy with a weird tattoo over his right eye?" Natsu asked.

"Yes. You know him Natsu-san?" Juvia asked. Natsu laughed a little.

"Yeah, he's actually how I met Lucy. The guy was using my name too, can you believe it? Like he's good enough to be 'The Salamander'. Kicked his ass, no problem at all." Natsu boasted. Juvia laughed at the thought as well.

"True, he wasn't a very impressive mage."

"Right? Anyway, keep going."

"Right. Juvia became an independent mage for a while before she was approached by master Jose. He said that Juvia was a skilled mage and invited her to join Phantom Lord. It was the first time someone outside of Juvia's family was accepting of her so she joined. It was there that she met Gajeel-kun and became friends with him. He was the only one who was willing to go on jobs with her, everyone else was bothered by the rain. Gajeel-kun was actually the one who recommended Juvia to be an S-class mage to Jose. He agreed and Juvia became a member of the Element Four. A few months later, Phantom Lord waged war against Fairy Tail and I was forced to battle my beloved Gray-sama. He was the one who made Juvia's rain go away and showed her the sun. Ever since then, Juvia has loved Gray-sama with all her heart. After that, Juvia went with Natsu-san and friend to the tower of heaven and joined Fairy Tail." Juvia finished.

"You really love him with all your heart?" Natsu asked.

"Of course! Gray-sama is Juvia's one and only!" she strongly proclaimed.

"But what about the others?" Natsu asked.

"Others?" Juvia asked, confused.

"Yeah. Like the rest of the guild, Lucy, Cana, and even Gajeel? Don't they have part of your heart too?" Natsu asked, genuinely confused. This stumped Juvia. Of course she loved Gajeel-kun and other members of the guild. It was a different kind of love than the one she held for her Gray-sama, but she could see where Natsu was coming from.

"Juvia supposes you're right, Natsu-san. But the kind of love Juvia has for Gray-sama is different than the love she has for others."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"There is more than one kind of love, Natsu-san. You really don't know?"

"Well, Igneel told me about love, yeah. He said it was a strong feeling you have for others that you like. That you'd do anything to protect them and make happy. He didn't say there were different kinds, though."

"Well, there's a love that you have towards people close to you. Like your family and friends, the Fairy Tail guild, for example. You love them, right?" Juvia tried to explain.

"Yeah!"

"That's a kind of love you feel for family. You love them as people and you care for them very deeply. This is when you love someone. Is Juvia making sense so far?"

"Yeah, sorta."

"Then there's when you're in love with someone." Juvia began.

"What's the difference between loving someone and when you're in love with someone?"

"When you're in love with someone… it's hard for Juvia to explain." She started, taking a pause to come up with a way to explain to the Dragon Slayer. When she gathered her thoughts, she began.

"When you're in love with someone, it feels different than what you'd feel for someone like family. When you see them, you start to feel differently, like you're scared and nervous, like there is a fluttering in your heart but you like it. Every little thing that person does makes you feel that way a little bit more. It's a romantic love that you share with someone that you cherish, different from a parent or sibling. You're heart and feelings invest in their own."

"My heart and feelings invest in another persons, huh?" Natsu said to himself, trying to understand what Juvia was saying.

"Do you understand, Natsu-san?"

"I… I think so. Loving someone in a way that feels different and kinda weird, right?" Natsu asked, beginning to understand.

"Yes, Juvia supposes that's one way. That's how Juvia feels about Gray-sama." Juvia exclaimed. "It's also how Alzak and Bisca feel towards each other." she said as an after thought, hoping this would help.

"So I want to stalk them?" Natsu asked. Juvia sweat-dropped.

"Not- not exactly…"

"Ok, I think I get it. Maybe." Natsu said.

"Really?" Juvia asked, not expecting him to get it so soon. "Does Natsu-san feel this way towards someone?" Juvia asked.

"I… I don't know…" Natsu said, truly unsure. The two stopped walking then, allowing Natsu to process his thoughts.

"Juvia won't push if Natsu-san is unsure, but if he doesn't mind, could Natsu-san tell Juvia about Igneel?" Juvia asked, reminding him of their deal. This snapped Natsu out of his head.

"Oh, right. Yeah! Hmmm, well for starters, Igneel was a bastard."


	3. The dragons child and arrival at Hargeon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu shares some of his life with Juvia.

"Igneel was a bastard." Natsu stated.

"…What?" Juvia asked.

"Yeah. The old fart almost killed me more times than I can count when he was teaching me magic. It was easier fighting the dragons after the games than it was him!" Natsu complained.

"Really? He was that strong?" Juvia asked in wonder.

"Hell yeah! But after a while I got my hits in. That was when I really started to come in to my magic."

"That reminds Juvia. Why would a dragon teach you magic designed to kill them?" she asked, always curious since she met Gajeel.

"Well, Igneel said that it wasn't magic made to kill dragons. It's really just the same magic used by dragons. Zilconis said that dragons taught humans their magic to win a war 400 years ago." Natsu explained.

"Gajeel-kun told Juvia about that. Wasn't he also one of the dragons we fought?"

"Yeah. I was really surprised too. But we got through it with everyone's help."

"Didn't Natsu-san fight alongside with a dragon?" Juvia remembered. Natsu grinned.

"Yup! Uncle Atlas Flame." Natsu said proudly.

"Uncle?"

"Yeah. He's friends with Igneel. When I told him I was Igneel's son, he joined us. When two fire dragons team up, we can't lose!" Natsu bragged.

"Wow, Igneel sounds very impressive." Juvia said. Natsu smiled softly.

"Yeah, he was. You remember the dragons and how strong they were?"

"Of course. Juvia won't be able to forget that soon." Juvia shuddered, remembering the fight.

"Well, Igneel could've beaten them all no problem!"

"Really?" Juvia was surprised. "He's really that strong?"

"Oh yeah! He's the fire dragon king for a reason!"

"Did you know he was king?" Juvia asked. Natsu looked a little embarrassed.

"Umm, not until uncle Atlas told me, but still!" Natsu tried to recover. Juvia laughed.

"Of course, Natsu-san. Wait, if Igneel is a king, does that make Natsu-san a prince?" Juvia asked. Natsu thought about it for a second before breaking out into a wide grin.

"Kakakaka! I guess I am! Natsu Dragneel, fire dragon prince. Take that, Gray! Kakakaka!" Natsu bragged. Juvia silently regretted telling Natsu this.

"Right, Natsu-san. If you wouldn't mind, how did you meet Igneel? Were you separated from your birth parents and found him?" Juvia asked. Natsu calmed down from his royal stupor and answered.

"I actually can't remember my birth parents. Earliest thing I can remember is getting lost in a forest. Wandered around there for a few days before I started hearing weird noises. I went closer to the noises and I saw that parts of the forest was burned and stuff. I kept going on and saw a huge red thing move through trees. Next thing I know, I'm staring at a giant dragon ass." Natsu said to Juvia's confusion.

"Um, shouldn't the saying be… 'giant ass dragon'? I know that's how Gajeel-kun would say it." Juvia asked. Natsu sighed.

"No. first time I saw Igneel, it was his butt." Natsu admitted. It was quiet for a good five seconds before Juvia burst out laughing.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Natsu tried to defend himself but Juvia was now hunched over from laughter.

"J-Juvia is sorry, Natsu-san, but it is!" Juvia said between laughs. Natsu pouted and waited for her to calm down. Juvia did eventually and Natsu helped her up.

"You done?" Natsu asked.

"Y-yes. Juvia is sorry, Natsu-san, but she couldn't help it. Dragon butt." Juvia giggled out.

"Look, just. Don't tell the guild, ok? Please? For me?" Natsu asked. He knew that if the guild found it, he'd never live it down.

"Juvia doesn't know, Natsu-san. This is pretty valuable information. Juvia could use this to her advantage." Juvia teased. Natsu was worried but then suddenly grinned evilly. It worried Juvia a bit.

"Ok, whatever you say. But before you do, tell me this. Did Gray at least buy you dinner after he-"

"NATSU-SAN!" Juvia cut him off, completely red faced. Now it was Natsu's turn to laugh.

"H- how does Natsu-san know about that?!" Juvia demanded.

"After the phantom war we all talked about our fights. Gray was kinda embarrassed about his fight so Cana got it out of him, eventually."

"D-does everyone know about that?" Juvia asked.

"No, just me, Cana, Elfman, an' Erza. And you an' Gray cause you two-" again, Natsu was cut off.

"OK. Juvia is glad it's not the whole guild."

"Now will you keep that a secret?" Natsu asked.

"Yes, only if Natsu-san keeps that a secret." Natsu offered his hand and Juvia shook it in agreement.

"Deal."

"Thank you, Natsu-san. What else did Igneel teach you?" Juvia asked.

"Well, I told you he taught me about fire, right?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, that really helped me. Most people think that fire's just hot and burns stuff, ya know?" Natsu asked. Juvia nodded. Honestly, she didn't think too much of fire, with her being water and all.

"Well, yeah it does that, but it's so much more. Igneel taught me that fire gives warmth, it gives light. It helps us survive, it gives life ya know. People never seem to think about that." Natsu explained, igniting a small flame in his hand.

"Juvia must admit, she never thought about that."

"It's ok. But as much as fire can give, it can take away just as much too. Igneel melted a giant boulder to nothing once. No fancy attack or anything, just breathed a little fire on it. When he was teaching me the Secret Arts, we burned an entire forest down. Now that I think about it, not one of our finer moments. Heheh." Natsu chuckled.

"Wait, does Natsu-san mean the fire that burned down all of juniper forest? That was you and Igneel?" she asked. Juvia remembered the news of that from years ago.

"Is that what that place was called?" Natsu asked.

"Yes! That fire consumed over 300 miles of forest territory! The nearby townspeople thought it was the anger of gods come to wreak havoc!" Juvia exclaimed. Natsu scratched the back of his head and grinned nervously.

"Heheh, yeah, me an' Igneel were real sorry about that. He helped put out fire an' Igneel used some of his magic to help the forest recover. Too bad we had to go to a different place, I liked it there." Natsu said nonchalantly. Juvia was taken aback. She knew that Natsu and dragons were strong, but to decimate an entire forest like that with seemingly no issue? Had she been underestimating just how strong he really was? Natsu snapped her out of her musings.

"But after we moved, he taught me other things. Like how to read an' write. He taught me how to hunt for food. He took care of me when I got sick, told me stories about his adventures." Natsu said, smiling solemnly as he remembered the times he shared with the dragon. "He's my dad. And I will find him!" Natsu stated with absolute conviction. Juvia couldn't help but smile.

"Juvia hopes you do, Natsu-san." She said sincerely.

"Thanks, Juvia." Natsu said. The two walked in comfortable silence as they made their way to Hargeon.

"Natsu-san, do you still know where to go? It's getting dark out." Juvia asked.

"Yeah, my eyes are better than most, dragon senses and that stuff. But if you can't see, lemme just do this." Natsu said as he grabbed a stick off the ground and lit it on fire with a quick breath.

"Ta-daaaa. Fire dragon's torch." Natsu joked, causing Juvia to laugh.

"That's very handy, Natsu-san."

"Yup! Gotta love fire." Natsu grinned. The two walked on the path to Hargeon in a comfortable silence before Natsu spoke up.

"Juvia, get ready. We're being followed."

"Right." Juvia answered, used to this due to her missions with Gajeel. Soon enough, four men came out of the trees and stopped in front of them, each of them big and burly with various weapons on them.

"Bandits." Juvia whispered, Natsu nodded. The leader of the group came forward.

"Woah there you two. This here is a toll road. You gotta pay up." He said smugly, holding out his hand for money.

"Sorry, we don't have any jewels." Natsu said evenly.

"Well, I'm sure your friend here can provide… other ways to pay." The man said, eyeing Juvia lecherously.

"Juvia would never be so desperate." She replied, earning a grin from Natsu.

"Aww, don't be like that lady. I'm sure we'll have a great time."

"She said no, asshole." Natsu countered. This made the man angry.

"Ok then. Boys! Let's teach these two what happens when they don't pay up." The leader called out. Natsu's grin grew wider and he dropped his torch as his hands burst into flame.

"Alright! I've been itchin' for a good fight!" he said. The bandits took a few steps back in surprise.

"Oh, shit! Mages!" one of the bandits yelled out.

"Wait, that mark… they're from Fairy Tail! And the guy with pink hair is the Salamander!" one of the bandits said.

"It's salmon!" Natsu defended.

"That makes the girl the Spirit Mage." Another bandit said, seemingly familiar with his team.

"Doesn't she have blonde hair, though? This one called herself Juvia, that name's familiar."

"I know why, she's the Rain Woman. Juvia of the Deep!" another bandit shrieked. The leader seemed somewhat scared to recognize these names, but still tried to keep his composure.

"It doesn't matter who they are! They still gotta pay for disrespecting us!" he said as he swing a sword at Natsu, who easily dodged it and got in close with his fist aflame.

"Fire dragon's iron fist!" Natsu roared out, sending the lead bandit flying away, unconscious on contact. The rest of the bandits just watched their leader as he soared through the sky.

"Alright, next!" Natsu challenged. The bandits paled.

"We're sorry! We'll leave you alone, sorry for bothering you!" the bandits shrieked as they ran away.

"Hey! Get back here and fight, you bastards!" Natsu called out, getting ready to give chase.

"Natsu-san, they're already gone and we have to get to the town soon." Juvia reminded.

"Aww. You sure we can't just go after them and-"

"No." Juvia sternly said.

"Fine!" Natsu pouted.

"Juvia is sorry, Natsu-san, but we must get to the town soon. The kraken could attack at anytime." Juvia explained.

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to fight something. Didn't get to do that back at the guild." Natsu said.

"It's ok, Natsu-san. You'll get to fight the kraken when we get to Hargeon." Juvia reassured. Natsu instantly perked up.

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot. Thanks, Juvia." Natsu laughed. Juvia sweat-dropped a bit because that was the job they were doing! Not too long after the bandits, the two mages eventually entered Hargeon town. They entered the mayor's office to get briefed on the job. He was an elderly fellow, average height but a bit chubby with graying hair. Though the man had an air of kindness around him.

"Thank you for taking this job, you two. That kraken has been holding up our boats for quite some time. We haven't had this much delay since… well since that incident seven years ago." The mayor said, causing Natsu to tense. Fortunately, Juvia either didn't notice, or just didn't press on it.

"You're welcome. Now, how long has the kraken been attacking the harbor?" Juvia asked.

"For about a month and a half. Usually it would just wait outside the harbor for the ships to approach it, but lately it's been coming closer and closer to the harbor."

"Does it attack every day?" Natsu asked.

"Oh heavens no. We would be in much more trouble if it did. The attacks seem to happen once a week or so." The mayor informed.

"When was the last one?" Juvia asked.

"Five days ago. The beast destroyed three of our ships. Fortunately, no one was injured."

"So it might not attack tomorrow?" Natsu asked.

"It might, it might not. We made this job request because we couldn't afford to hope that it would just go away on its own."

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Juvia asked.

"Sadly, that is all we know. Now it's late. The two of you must have had a long trip if you arrived this late. I've arranged for you to stay at one of our hotels. Don't worry, it won't come from your reward. If you'd like, we can also put you somewhere else."

"Thank you, but the hotel should be fine. Two rooms, yes?" Juvia asked.

"Yes. Fifth floor at the Sycamore hotel. The nightly rate is usually 2500 jewels a night, but for you two, we can make it 1600. A show of appreciation for taking on this job." The mayor said.

"Thanks, old man!" Natsu said.

"That is very kind of you. Juvia has heard great things about the hotel." Juvia thanked him, though with less enthusiasm than Natsu.

"It's no problem at all. Feel free to explore the town until the kraken shows up. And once again, the town of Hargeon thanks you for taking this job." The mayor said, shaking both their hands as they got up to leave. Before they could, the mayor spoke up again.

"Oh, and Mr. Dragneel. We would very much appreciate it if we didn't have a repeat of last time you came to visit." He said. Natsu rubbed his head and chuckled nervously while Juvia just looked at him, confused.

"Eheheheh. I'll try. Sorry about that, by the way." Natsu apologized.

"After what you and your guild went through, no hard feelings. Just, do try to attempt it doesn't happen again." The mayor asked.

"I'll try my hardest." Natsu promised.

"Good man. Well, I've kept you long enough, good night, you two." The mayor said. The two of them then walked to the hotel.

"Natsu-san. What did the mayor mean when he said 'a repeat of last time'?" Juvia asked.

"Well, you see… this is the town where I met Lucy. And the town where I beat Bora. And I beat Bora because he was gonna kidnap Lucy along with other girls. I might have gone a bit… too far. Eheheheh." Natsu sheepishly explained. Juvia just sighed.

"Did Natsu-san destroy the harbour?" Juvia asked, already knowing the answer.

"Just a little bit."

"Natsu-san." Juvia said more sternly.

"Ok, maybe a lotta bit." He confessed as the two went entered the hotel lobby.

"Hello. The mayor said he arranged for us to have rooms here. Natsu Dragneel and Juvia Lockser." Juvia introduced.

"Ahh, yes. The mages. Just one moment." The woman behind the desk said as she turned around. A second later she turned back around, holding two keys. "These are your room keys, fifth floor, rooms 54 and 55. Please enjoy your stay." The women said kindly.

"Thank you." Juvia replied. The then headed off to their rooms.

"Man, I can't wait to fight that kraken tomorrow." Natsu said, stretching his arms.

"The mayor said it might not attack. You might have to wait, Natsu-san." Juvia reminded.

"But it also might attack too! You have be more positive, Juvia."

"Juvia should hope a kraken will attack the harbor?" she asked, confused.

"Yup!" Natsu replied with his usual grin, making Juvia laugh a bit.

"Well, here are the rooms. We should probably sleep, been a long day." Natsu said, yawning slightly. Juvia nodded.

"Right, Juvia is also tired from the trip. Good night, Natsu-san."

"G'night, Juvia."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note. This is the chapter that made me say this was written before the Tartarus arc. The whole time-travel thing and the dragons hiding in the slayers hadn't been revealed yet so I wrote this with the assumption the dragons just disappeared.

**Author's Note:**

> So I've decided to bring all my fics over from Fanfiction.net to over here. The story is done so if you want to read the whole thing, just go over there. I'll edit a few things here, make some changes that I wanted since writing this the first time, but It'll be the same story. I'll add each chapter every week. Also, this was written before the Tartarus Arc, so there will be things that don't align with the story. Had to make some stuff up at the time.


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